Abuja Fans ‘Unimpressed’ With Super Eagles Performance (VIDEO)

The Super Eagles of Nigeria progressed to the play-off round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers after doing the minimum required to advance, picking up a point against Cape Verde in their 1-1 draw at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, thereby preserving its place at the top of the Group C table.

Before the start, the three-time African champions led Group C with 12 points, while the visitors had 10. Both sides had the chance to reach the final round of qualifiers, making the contest a highly anticipated one.

Nigeria had a dream start when Victor Osimhen opened the scoring with a neat low finish after Moses Simon’s cross was poorly cleared out.

However, Cape Verde who needed a win away from home to progress, drew level five minutes later when Ianique dos Santos Tavares scored to give the hosts a glimmer of hope.

Despite including most of their top Europe-based stars, the Super Eagles laboured to a 1-1 home draw with Cape Verde on Tuesday to squeeze through to the playoffs scheduled for March 2022.

On its way to reaching the 2018 World Cup, the three-time African champions qualified from a tougher group that  included Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia. However, the current qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Qatar falls short of the commanding performances displayed in reaching Russia 2018.

• Read more: World Cup Qualifiers: Nigeria Advances To Next Round
• Read more: Cape Verde Match A  ‘Must-Win’ – Super Eagles Captain

In contrast the draw against Cape Verde, ranked 40 places below Nigeria in the FIFA rankings, meant the Super Eagles scraped through from a group that included  Central African Republic and Liberia.

Former Nigerian international and TV pundit Idah Peterside said 68-year-old German Rohr was not the man to lead the team at either the Africa Cup of Nations in January or the World Cup qualifying playoffs after that.

“Nigeria must fire Rohr,”  Peterside said. “He has lost the team, he has taken us as far as he can go. Please NFF, let him go now.”

The unconvincing display by the Super Eagles against Cape Verde also sparked calls from a cross section of fans in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja on Wednesday for coach Gernot Rohr’s position to be reviewed.

Rohr, who was appointed in August 2016, has overseen Nigeria in 64 matches, of which he has won 35. The Super Eagles coach praised his team and described the draw as a valuable win for the Super Eagles.

“It was a good match, we had a draw that looks like a victory today,” Rohr said after the match. “Some people were scared so we don’t have the same scenario like Portugal. We did very well and defended very well.”

“We have qualified for the next phase of the qualifiers, we can continue to dream.”

Super Eagles forward Osimhen said the Blue sharks had a good game and that makes the draw a valuable result for the Super Eagles.

“It is good for us. The first leg wasn’t easy,” Osimhen said. “We know they have quality players in their team and it’s important for us to be on top of our game to get this sort of result to qualify for the final round.

“I am really happy about this.”

The Second Round of the African Qualifiers for the Qatar 2020 FIFA World Cup was concluded on Tuesday, with ten teams topping their groups to reach the Third and Final round, scheduled for March 2022.

Ten teams will be drawn in five playoff fixtures to determine the five sides that will represent Africa in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Chidi Nwoke/Mazino Dickson/Tobi Sangotola.